Emotional freedom means breaking free from the paralyzing effect that negative emotions can have on our lives. Breaking free empowers us to make positive choices in spite of our emotions.

While we may not be able to rid ourselves totally of these negative emotions, we can certainly learn to control them. Learning to understand our emotions can also allow us to feel better despite our feelings and circumstances.

Read more here about self-help and how it works.

If we can learn to manage emotions such as fear, anger, guilt, shame, and anxiety, we will be well on the way to enjoying emotional freedom.

In learning to manage anger, it is important to consider the role of forgiveness. Forgiveness quotes can help us to understand the importance of forgiveness in creating our own emotional freedom and wellbeing. By letting go of the past, we can move forward freely and joyfully. The biggest challenge that I have faced in my own quest for emotional freedom is coming to terms with having depression. To enjoy freedom in my life, even with depression, I had to learn how to manage my depression.

Depression self help is an area that I have been intensely involved with, both on a personal level, and as a support to others in their own journey to a happier life with depression.

Depression quotes can help us gain greater understanding or a different perspective on this distressing condition, know that we are not alone, and catch a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

I also had to work hard to overcome the shame I felt about having depression. Healing Shame is an extract from my book, Freedom from Shame.

The first step to becoming free is to identify each emotion. There are often times that we feel very unhappy, but really don’t know why. It takes some time and thought to discover the cause of our unhappiness. Feeling frustrated, misunderstood, or unappreciated are a few possible causes of a feeling of general discontent. Read this article for some effective techniques on dealing with angst.

Sometimes too, our emotions can be deeper and harder to understand.This can create what is known as emotional baggage- lingering fears, phobias, and issues we have from unresolved past experiences.

Something that I have personally found very helpful in dealing with emotional baggage is known as Emotional Freedom Technique(EFT). EFT tapping is done using acupressure points in the body while focusing on a specific problem or issue that you wish to heal. This article is a step-by-step guide on how to do EFT. As well as being highly effective in releasing emotional blocks EFT can be used in creative ways for making positive changes.

Once you have been able to get specific about your feelings, the next step is figuring out what has triggered them. Perhaps you feel frustrated as a result of knowing what you want to achieve, but not knowing how to go about getting there.

Just understanding that you are frustrated, and why, can ease the frustration somewhat. By acknowledging your feelings, you have a much better chance of accepting the fact that your frustration might continue for a while. Since you don’t have a clear idea yet of how to achieve your goal, it’s best to accept that your progress might be very slow at this stage.

Frustration is always a result of a conflict between what you want and your current reality.

It’s amazing how acceptance of your circumstances and realizing that they may take time to change can actually reduce the frustration. Understanding and acceptance empowers us. This is the essence of emotional freedom- lessening the power of our emotions over us by recognizing and accepting them.

Expressing feelings in a healthy and appropriate way is also a vital part of creating and maintaining our wellbeing.

From this point you might decide to shift your focus onto areas of your life that are going the way you want them to. Putting the cause of your frustration aside for a while can sometimes free your subconscious mind to come up with fresh ideas.

Becoming aware of your frustration can also help you to get creative about ways to eliminate it. Perhaps you can brainstorm some different ideas to get you started towards your goal. Otherwise you might find an easier short-term alternative that can provide the fulfillment that you are seeking. This is the part of gaining emotional freedom that encompasses self-development.

For example, if the goal you want to achieve is finding a satisfying career, you can start gaining satisfaction right where you are. If the career you dream of involves writing, try thinking of a way to include more writing in your current job.

If your current job really doesn’t provide any opportunities for creative expression, do it as a hobby. Doing what you love empowers you and paves the way for future possibilities. It’s amazing how many successful people have started their careers by following their passions just for fun.

Whichever way you end up proceeding with your dreams, the important thing is to proceed with an open heart and mind. Understanding and validating your emotions - the good, the bad, and the ugly- is the key to emotional freedom.

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